Publisher: Penguin InterMix
Publish Date: Out Today
How I got this book: NetGalley
She’s daddy’s little girl…or she would have been, had he known she existed. Cassie Wainwright thought her father—head coach of the Santa Fe Bobcats—ignored her purposefully. Come to find out, he had no clue she’d ever been born.
Now Cassie is determined to meet the man who’s always been missing from her life. Her mother warns her, being the long-lost daughter of a well-known NFL coach won’t be easy, but Cassie’s determined to stick it out. And before her life turns upside down, she wants one more night of fun.
Starting quarterback for the Santa Fe Bobcats, Trey Owens is tired of being in the limelight. Lucky for him, the beautiful brunette he meets at the club isn’t a local. She has no idea who he is…and she’s down to party.
Tomorrow, Cassie will think about her father. Tomorrow, she’ll think about her future. But tonight is for herself and the hottie she found on dance floor. It’s a matchup made in heaven—if only for a night…
*Blurb from Goodreads*
It’s no secret I love my sports romance books. Seeing a new football book come across my radar had my requesting finger busy clicking. 🙂
Cassie wasn’t sure what to expect when meeting her father for the first time, but having him lay out ground rules wasn’t it. The desire to know her other family is too much though, and Cassie finds herself giving into ridiculous rules that she can’t begin to live up to. Thankfully, her developing (but secret) friendship with Trey is keeping her grounded when she needs it most.
Trey kept his job a secret from Cassie because he wanted to find a woman who liked him for himself. He never expected to fall so hard for her, and he really never expected her to be the long lost daughter of his coach. Living with Cassie’s rules is harder than he thought, especially when Trey wants to come clean about their relationship. But Cassie’s father has some strict rules, and when Cassie breaks them, her relationship with Trey and her new family might not be enough to keep her in Santa Fe.
I loved the way this book was so unique from other sports romance books I’ve read. The idea of Cassie being the secret daughter of the coach is something I’ve never even imagined. It was fresh and different and fun and I loved the way it played out in the story. While I’m not always a huge fan of keeping a romance a secret from family and friends, I did like the way that Trey and Cassie struggled with taking their relationship out into the open. I enjoyed the way they talked and debated the pros and cons of talking to her dad. The fact that Cassie was willing to put everything else in her life on hold for a father she didn’t know, two half sisters that couldn’t be more different, and a stepmom who was a raging bitch, was above and beyond.
I thought Murray did a wonderful job of creating endearing secondary characters that I can’t wait to read more about. I loved Cassie’s half-sisters, despite the fact that they were polar opposites from each other, and at times really rude to Cassie. I also loved the fact that Trey and his teammates were so close. I think I’m going to really enjoy the other books in this series. 🙂 There were two secondary characters that bothered me though. First, the stepmom. She really was this huge bitch, and while I can see why she would be bothered having her husband’s adult child just show up, she really took her attitude to an extreme. The second was Trey’s best friend and fellow teammate, Stephen. Without giving too much away, I had a hard time reconciling his struggles with his lifestyle as a pro football player.
I thought the romance in this book was so good. I liked the way both Cassie and Trey kept pieces of themselves from each other, especially in the beginning. I enjoyed the way they handled their relationship maturely, and that they didn’t fly off the handle when those secrets came out. Their progression from one night stand to friends to so much more was really well done, and I loved all their quiet moments together.
All in all, I think Murray has a real hit with her new Santa Fe Bobcats series. It was a fresh idea with a tried and true genre, and I loved that. I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next, and am anxiously waiting to see little snapshots from Cassie and Trey’s future.
I give One Night with a Quarterback a B